SWATCHES | OPI BRIGHTS FOR SUMMER 2015

When you tend to opt for black clothes whatever the season, like I do, it's nice to add some coloured details into the mix - and what better way than nailpolish?

This little summer collection from OPI is goooorgeous. It has three additional colours apart from the six in this post - Life Gave Me Lemons, Down To The Core-al and Hotter Than You Pink - but since those were all released last summer we'll just focus on the new shades today. All swatches have two layers and no topcoat.

Can't Hear Myself Pink! I wasn't too sure when I first saw it because of the pearl in in but after hearing several friends and clients say it reminds them of Barbie and her world, it opened up my eyes and I now somehow get really excited whenever I see it. It's a warm medium pink with pink and peach micro glitter.

I Sea You Wear OPI. Same formula as CHMP above and just as fun but has slightly bigger glitter particles and is even more amazing on top of one of the other colours. Keep scrolling and you'll see what I mean..

The Berry Thought of You. This formula is amazing! It looks and feel like gelly and glides on smoothly. Two layers was (surprisingly) enough for full coverage and I'm a big fan of the cool tone of it.

On Pinks & Needles on top The Berry Thought Of You + matte top coat. It has a clear base with pink hexagonal confetti. Quite cute on it's own actually, but probably meant to wear on top of a nailpolish of your choice.

I STOP for Red. Such an amazing, bright, almost glowing tomato red. I absolutely love this colour and just like TBToY, this too has got that gelly-like formula.

My Car has Navy-gation. Jelly formula again but this one goes on quite sheer on the first swipe, though thankfully two layers was enough with this one as well. A beautiful, rich, darker royal blue that makes a nice addition to the otherwise bright collection.

3 other ways of pairing these colours: On Pinks & Needles on top My Car has Navy-gation, Can't Hear Myself Pink! on top of My Car has Navy-gation, and lastly, I Sea You Wear OPI on top of The Berry Thought Of You.

And my favourite combo: 1 layer of I Sea You Wear OPI on top of the original 2 layers of My Car has Navy-gation. I mean.. Look at it!

OPI x 50 SHADES OF GREY COLLECTION

My Silk Tie

Cement The Deal

Shine For Me

Embrace The Gray

Romantically Involved

Dark Side Of The Mood

How great is this press kit? I am absolutely loving it and all six shades of the collection. Like so many others I have been massively excited about the 50 Shades of Grey movie and everything around it including this collection even though I personally haven't actually read the books yet. (I guess you know you made it if people are excited by the mere thought of your products/ideas. Haha!) At the beautiful press launch at the Hilton hotel in Stockholm last week they kindly gave us a copy of the first book so we can all get into the world of Mr Grey before the movie premieres on Valentine's Day, February 14. (Watch the trailer here!)

The collection contains the light grey creme Cement The Deal, the mid-tone grey creme Embrace The Gray, a darker grey with a touch of blue called Dark Side Of The Mood, a beaming glitter varnish with silver and blue glitter particles called Shine For Me and lastly the one colour that is supposed to represent the female part, Anastasia Steele, called Romantically Involved. It's such a wonderful red shade and probably my favourite of the six. The sun was setting as I was swatching these so I didn't get a great picture of it but do take a look at this one by Temperaninails who captured it far better and you'll see just how fantastic it is.

I really am one of these people who loves and cherish the little things and details in everyday moments like going to the cinema and being able to wear a nailpolish that is connected to what I'm seeing on screen (like this collection is), or to do a makeup look inspired by what I'm watching, or to dress accordingly etc, etc. I one hundred percent feel that these simple things make everyday moments more fun and I love how the creative people at OPI are always having their radar on for what's interesting at the moment and keep delivering fun and exciting collections that feels just right in time.

I think it's a great collection of shades; not too much and not too little. Just like the sentence that run through the collection; "It's all about the tease."As always, a big Thank You to the girls at GoodPr and OPI for this beautiful kit and a wonderful evening. The collection will be out in early January so you can wear your favourite shade to the movie theatre. Until then, I better get started on the reading!

PS. You know how usually a couple of the colours from the OPI collections will be made available in Mini kits as well as full-sized bottles? (Usually around 4..) Well, ALL six of these OPI 50 Shades Of Grey nail lacquers will be available in 1 Mini Kit (!!) so if you feel like you like the collection and want to get it but don't want to spend your money on full-sized bottles (maybe you don't use nailpolish that often; or maybe you feel like the shades won't be interesting to you long enough to finish an entire bottle - whatever your reason may be) then this Mini kit is definitely something to concider.

Personally I absolutely love these kits, and the fact that all of the colours are available in both big and small sizes this time around is, I think, quite brilliant if you think about how well it fits in with the "slogan" of the collection; "It's all about the tease."

CHRISTMAS WITH GWEN STEFANI

Gwen Stefani has been this year's main woman when it comes to OPI and their nail polish collections. We were introduced to her first 6 shades in the beginning of the year which cintained the colours we might associate her with and now, just like the Mariah Carey Christmas collection last year, OPI & Gwen are giving us another 18(!) shades of Christmas.

I have 3 of them to show you here today. The absolutely gorgeous red and gold shimmery Red Fingers & Mistletoes, the metallic silver Unfrost My Heart and the shiny, slightly shimmery purple I Carol About You (which to me is even more beautiful with a matte top coat). Take a look at the full collection in a store near you or get a quick peek here.

PEANUTS by OPI FOR HALLOWEEN 2014

Many beauty bloggers and enthusiasts may be used to getting every single nail polish and makeup collection available in stores around them but Sweden is not one of these countries - we haven't seen a Halloween collection from OPI for many, many years so no surprise we are now quite excited. Apparently the most common halloween nail polish collections (a dark safire blue, a bright orange, a black and a glow-in-the-dark top coat for example) doesn't sell very well up here so let's keep our fingers crossed that this one does so we can keep on seeing fun lacquers every Oktober from now on, okay?

Peanuts is (a comic strip and) not something I personally associate with this spooky holiday but my mind is ususally locked on the same vampy colours year after year so I think it's fun to see something a bit more unexpected but still suitable - a bit more playful. I do definitely like that we get a good quality black polish so that if you don't have one and are about to get one for autumn/winter, this is a good option.

The confetti ones are fun for any age and in the photos above you can see the black, orange and yellow confetti polish Where's My Blanket??? on top of the yellow Good Grief!, the multi-coloured confetti polish To Be Or Not To Beagle on top of the shiny black Who Are You Calling Bossy?!? and an extra swatch showing an alternative combination/base using the orange Can't Afjörd Not To from their main fall collection - Nordic (which you can still find in stores). You'll find them in stores now.

I'm honestly surprised at how much this collection and its colours has been inspiring me since I got it a few months back. I have a story and scene for each and every one of these and I'm so excited for fall and to wear them on suitable occasions. Will I be picking up Thank Glogg it's Friday for an evening where I know I'll be having Glögg? You bet. Will I be nerdy enough to wear Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm on a shopping day? Most likely. My Voice Is A Little Norse will definitely be seen sparkling on my fingertips on a starry winters night, Going My Way Or Norway while warming up with a cup of hot chocolate in one of the cozy cafes in the Old Town part of Stockholm on a winters afternoon and How Great Is Your Dane? to match the trees on an autumn day in the woods. Magical.

When presenting the collection at Grand Hotel Stockholm spring 2014, Suzi explained how the colours are inspired by popular northern phenomenons and locations; The brown ones are inspired by cinnamon buns, the pink and orange by the colourful houses in Copenhagen and the green and holo glitter both inspired by the northern lights.

My favourites from this collection includes the dark purple Viking In A Vinter Vonderland which brings my mind to Ragnar Lothbrok of the TV series Vikings and the general style of the show, braided hair, cool winds and that purple colour you get under your nail if you accidentally clamp it badly. It's got everything I want for fall: it's dark, it's cold and absolutely gorgeous.

All of my swatches shown above have two coats of nailpolish and no top coat. The Nordic collection is out in stores now.

SWATCHES | OPI MUPPETS MOST WANTED COLLECTION

If you haven't heard already, a new Muppet adventure awaits! "Muppets Most Wanted" premieres by the end of the month and for this occasion, OPI teamed up with Disney once again to give us eight new nailpolishes which will also be this year's Soft Shades collection from the brand.

We have a milky peach nude; a sheer baby pink; a somewhat olive-toned rosy mauve duocrome; a kind of glowing blue metallic with the slightest hint of duocrome power to it; an opalescent pearl with pink and blue shimmer that works well as a top coat along with the three different glitter polishes of the collection; one with gold, silver and rose gold glitter flakes; one with small round pink and square white glitters mixed with bigger white square glitters; and the third having different sized sparkles in white, gold, silver, blue and a purple-y pink colour - all three with a clear base.

I'm quite excited to watch the movie to see if perhaps it gets just a bit more clear where the inspiration for these colours came from. As I mentioned, this is the Soft Shades collection of this year and if you don't know what that is, it's usually exactly what it sounds like: OPI is releasing a small collection each year containing softer shades, great for the "wedding season" among other things - usually a lot of sheer pinks and nudes. Surprisingly (since I'm ususally instantly stuck on the darker shades or the glitters) the classic Soft Shades hues of I Love Applause and Chillin' Like A Villain is my top two in this collection. I love the freshness and simplicity of them. All of the swatches have two coats but these two I prefer better with three.

I Love Applause is also a perfect base for Let's Do Anything We Want! and beautiful underneath Gaining Mole-mentum, just as Muppets World Tour is lovely on top of Int'l Crime Caper and Miss Piggy's Big Number. That's one of the plus sides to this slightly different Soft Shades collection; you can mix and match a lot more than usual!

The collection will be out in stores by the end of this month(US)/beginning of April (here in Sweden and internationally).

SWATCHES | OPI BRAZIL COLLECTION

The main spring/summer collection from OPI has arrived in stores and this year they drew inspiration from the colourful carnivals, warm, sun-soaked beaches, vibrant bikinis, the sun-kissed women, luscious tropical fruits and deep green jungles of Brazil.

Additionally to the 12 shades I have swatched for you above, the collection also includes the Beach Sandies - a box of 4 mini-sized Liquid Sand lacquers. Unlike the Liquid Sands included in previous collections, these will not be available in the original size bottles but exclusively in this set of 4. Click here to see a swatch photo from imabeautygeek.com.

Tell me Your favourites! I absolutely love the red jelly-like Red Hot Rio. So juicy looking. Fantastic. "Next Stop...The Bikini Zone" is a sheer shimmer but I'm thrilled to see that most of these are in my favourite formula - creme - and I am equally excited about the three taupes now as I was back in November when I first saw the collection at the promotion event. The mix of earthly shades and full-on colour is such a winner and spot-on resembles the colours in the scenarios I get in my head when thinking of Brazil. Click HERE if you want to see my "Brazil collection mood board" to see what I mean!

VIVA GLAM RIHANNA

As I mentioned in my previous post on the collaborations between MAC Cosmetics and Rihanna, they have chosen her as their new VIVA GLAM spokesperson for 2014. As per usual when it comes to the VIVA GLAM line they try to create shades that will suit most people and went for a frosty, blue-red lipstick and Lipglass this time. It's creamy, feels light and comfortable on the lips and indeed a shade that suits a lot of skintones. I somehow get the feeling of an "everyday" kind of red - perhaps because of the formula or perhaps because I am personally more used to darker shades of red. I find it really nice either way and haven't found a dupe in my collection so I believe this is definitely worth checking out - even if you didn't already plan on getting it simply out of the collectors point of view.

And can we please talk about the packaging? Are you seeing the beauty of this thing? No, probably not, because it can not really be captured in a photo - at least I can't. It has kind of a velvet look and has to be the absolute most gorgeous lipstick bullet MAC has ever created. So even if you're not buying this, please just go to your nearest MAC counter/MAC store and just LOOK at it. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. (Yes, I get too damn excited about these things.)

The lipstick will be available from January 21 in the US (maccosmetics.com) and February 8 here in Skandinavia (maccosmetics.se). Go to your local counter/store to find out the exact date for Your country.

SWATCHES | OPI GWEN STEFANI COLLECTION

OPI is rapidly becoming known as the number one brand for introducing us to new formulas, always pushing forward to set a new trend. One of their latest hits were the Liquid Sand nail polish which, naturally, many brands have been copying since the launch, and since then OPI have been releasing a couple of Liquid Sand shades with almost every collection. This collections has none but a good variety of formulas nonetheless - and naturally a brand new one!

During my early teen years Gwen Stefani was always "that cool chick" - always a bit different from the other artists at that time (well, at least to me), always unique and fun. I am therefore quite excited about her teaming up with OPI for a collection of seven limited edition nail lacquers. The signature red and a trace of her pink hair are two of the six shades I have here to show you today.

Despite my imprinted memories of the pink haired Gwen singing about how "I kind of always knew I'd end up your ex-girlfriend", most people probably think of red lips and matching nails when they hear her name. Her signature red OPI polish is called Over & Over A-Gwen and will be available in a special box including black swarowski crystals and different shaped gold, silver and pewter studs along with nail glue to make your own unique nail design. Click here to see a photo of it.

The collection includes another two glossy cremes and one is I Sing In Color - a dark chocolate cherry shade. Yeah, you guessed it.. of course the vampy one is my favourite! It doesn't matter how many dupes there might be or how many I already have in my stash - I'll always love a rich burgundy, dark eggplant, dark wine and the like.

The third creme is called Hey Baby and she's a glossy medium pink. Feel like you've seen it before? Well, if you already own OPI I'm India Mood For Love or Nicole By OPI Spring Break then it seems you already have a dupe.

The collection also features two semi-matte satin finish designed to be worn without topcoat. 4 in the Morning is a charcoal black that doesn't look so harsh because of the finish. I might actually replace this swatch since it seems it had not dried completely when I took the photo and just noticed it is supposed to look more matte than this - a bit like leather actually. Click here to see more photos of the satin finish.

The second satin polish is Love. Angel. Music. Baby - a golden hue that brings my mind to the music video of The Sweet Escape which I currently wish I could live in because of my obsessing with gold for the past couple of months. It's a gold with a silvery shimmer and very, very similar in colour to Honey Ryder from the Bond Girls (Liquid Sand) collection - the finish being the difference.

Lastly we have a sparkly top coat and personally I don't see a whole lot of Gwen in this - or rather my version of Gwen - but a glitter is aaalways fun and a holo glitter even better. Try it top of 4 in the morning if that satin finish is not for you.

Push And Shove is the name of the seventh lacquer in the collection (which I unfortunately don't have to show you) and also the lacquer that has the NEW formula. I don't know if I can say that it is the star of the collection since I haven't tried it yet, but I would guess it's the most discussed.Push and Shove is a chome hue but requires a special base coat - Lay Down That Base - to get into its full glory. Apparently one thin coat of this + two thin coats of Push And Shove will give a mirrored finish similar to what we have so far only been able to get using MINX nail foil. Judging by swatch photos like this one, this one and this one I feel like the limit of what you can achieve with nailpolish alone has been reached. It makes me think of the silvery 90's fashion and the accessories being sold today inspired by it such as backpacks, shoes etc and that makes the nostalgia-loving, materialistic little part of my heart in a shopping mood.

All of the swatches has 2 coats. The collection will be out in stores mid January.

MAC RETRO MATTE LIPSTICK - ALL FIRED UP

As you might know, MAC Ruby Woo is one of the most popular red lipsticks both on and off the runway and inspired by this MAC released a collection of eye-catching shades to create that feminine yet fierce look this fall. Eight shades in total along with eight matching Pro Longwear lip pencils makes it a collection worth checking out if you haven't already - especially for those who really need their lipstick to stay put.

This is All Fired Up - a warm, reddish fuchsia. This one surprised me a lot since it was described as a "bright fuchsia matte" to which my reaction when first reading about it was more of a shrugging "meh" than something I'd put on my have-to-have list for private use. That quickly changed when I tried it on! It is a lot more red than I initally thought it would be and gives a stunning matte look to your lips. It is by far one of my favourite lipsticks this year and the best of all; it stays in their permament line!

RIHANNA HEARTS MAC

After releasing the classic red Riri Woo lipstick in the beginning of 2013 and following up with a three-piece lipstick collection for the summer, it's now time for Rihanna to drop her highly anticipated fall collection including 4 lipsticks (- 2 of which we've seen before), 2 eyeshadow quads, a Lipglass, two lip pencils, a new Cream Colour Base, a powder blush as well as a powder blush duo, 2 makeup brushes, 2 pair of lashes, some liners, pencils and my favourite mascara in a limited edition packaging - the Extended Play Lash.

In the photos above I am showing you two of these items; Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush Duo and Talk That Talk lipstick. For those of you lipstick lovers who are curious about dupes, I wanted to share a photo I took of some MAC lipsticks - 5th picture. In the top row (from the left) you have Rebel, Media and Talk That Talk. Bottom row is Cyber and Smoked Purple. What I noticed is that just like Smoked Purple is a more matte version of Cyber, Talk That Talk is a more matte version of Media. The colour looks the same, to me it's just the formula that's different. Now I know it will slightly differ depending on your skintone but that's what it looks like on my NC15 skin. MAC Currant lip pencil is also close in shade!

The duo blush is a lovely peachy-pink-coral colour plus a beautiful, medium tan shade - and I am already thinking about getting my hands on a backup! I absolutely love this!

The collection is set to be released on October 3rd in the US and around the same time internationally - in Sweden we'll get it on Oct 1st (maccosmetics.se) and on Oct 8 (Kicks.se).

SWATCHES | OPI SAN FRANCISCO COLLECTION

Any favourites? My personal ones are the two absolutely amazing reds of the collection; Lost On Lombard and First Date At The Golden Gate, the deep ink-blue Incognito In Sausalito and the burgundy purple In The Cable Car-Pool Lane. I have a feeling I'll be wearing these four exclusively the rest of the year. Stunners!!

Fifteen new shades makes it quite a big fall collection and three new Liquid Sand lacquers are presented - the matte blue (in the last photo) being my favourite. Once again I think OPI did a great job with the shades and - judging on the praise heard when showing this to people around me - incorporating something for everyone. I guess you're not a Royal Warrant Holder without a reason.

The San Francisco fall collection will be available in stores by the end of the summer.

EVENT | OPI SAN FRANCISCO COLLECTION

MAC introducing new shades of Studio Fix Fluid

Studio Fix Fluid NW13, Studio Fix Fluid NC15

As I've mentioned before I've been loving the MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation for quite some time now but fairly recently discovered that even the NC15 is a tad too dark during these winter months so I was really excited when I heard they were releasing even lighter shades. I've heard of many people who had problems wearing this simply because even the lightest shades were way too dark. Now they carry both NW10(!) and NW13 (which I am showing in the photo above). Perfect for all of us fair ladies! My only wish is that they also would have added an NC13 but by mixing the NW13 with my NC15 I am able to get my perfect "winter shade". Thrilled to see an improved range of shades and can't wait to get the Snow White-ish NW10.

Fair skin and looking for a medium coverage foundation? Pop by your nearest MAC counter and ask for a sample of these new shades or have them try it out on your face right on the spot.

SPRING '13 | MAC ARCHIES GIRLS COLLECTION

Even though it turned out my mom knows more about "Archie's Girls" than I do, I have been looking forward to this collection a lot. A lot. And even though personally I prefer shades with cool undertones on my face, I do love a good peachy colour and that's why I - yes, honestly - screamed a little when I recieved the "Flatter Me" Pearlmatte Face Powder and the "Betty Bright" [light vibrant peach] lipstick. The lipstick is bright as the name tells but still not too frightening if you're not used to a major amount of colour.. And for the face powder, the colour of the hearts turned up more on the skin than I would have imagined but it's still quite sheer and buildable - just how I like it. It might not show up a lot on dark skin tones but it will probably work as a highlighter. For me it's a blush and highlighter combined. I love it!

I am desperate to get my hands on the Cream Soda blush as well - the name itself being a just as big reason as the colour. Yes, the nerd in me has spoke.. Bare with me folks. And happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I won't even act surprised about the fact that once again the names had me hooked right away. My favourite colours from the spring fashion collection are the amazingly beautiful periwinkle lilac You're Such A Budapest, the dark blue OPI... Eurso Euro, the almost neon orange-red My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours! and the blue/purple glitter polish Polka.com. I think the collection has got a good variety of colours which all somehow fits into the theme and the places from where they drew inspiraion. Which one is your favourite?